Chris awoke to a short text message from Xavier. With Scott. Don't worry.
He sighed, and then grinned. It was just like Xavier to text him in the middle of the night, just so he wouldn't worry. The kid was raised well, or at least responsibly. Ryan Cho did a great job.
Chris shook his head. Maybe not a great job; no kid should have ever been beaten as Xavier was while growing up. But it wasn't his place to say, though he wished it were. Try as he may to not think about it, he felt as if Xavier was in a way, his son. His responsibility. Now that the boy was living under his roof and dealing with this town's problems, Chris wanted to do everything in his power to protect the guy.
He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He missed Allison. Maybe, just maybe, Xavier was a bit like medicine. He was helping him cope.
Chris stood up, wiping his mind of any thoughts about Xavier. They had an alpha pack to deal with, and he had a motel to check out. It was time to go to work.
…
Xavier awoke late Sunday morning to the sight of Melissa McCall whispering to her son, both of them sitting on his bed. He sat up from his spot on the floor, wiping away the sleep from his eyes; one had raised to shade his face from the bright light already peeking in from the curtains.
Melissa's eyes passed over him as he rose. "Oh, sorry! Hi, I'm Melissa. Scott's mom. Yeah, the cretin has a mom." She laughed awkwardly. From behind her, Scott looked like he was going to drop dead in embarrassment.
From the way she had been whispering, it was clear she had tried not to wake him. That gratified him. Xavier quickly pulled a smile of his own on his face. "Mrs. McCall. We've actually met before. I, uh, I never really got to thank you. You kind of saved my life a few weeks ago. I really owe you big."
She nodded. "Well, Xavier, if I recall correctly, you actually did. Thank me. You did once while I attached you to oxygen the night you got in, you did it every time someone brought you food, and you thanked me one last time as you limped out of the hospital, when you were released." She eyed him. "Yeah, uh, we kind of kept track after the tenth time. It was a hospital record."
Scott face-palmed. Xavier looked embarrassed. "Well. Uh, okay then. Right. In that case, thanks. For uh, telling me that. Wait, no…"
Scott interrupted him, sparing the poor guy from answering. "Sooo, what's for lunch, mom?"
His mom shot him an icy glare. Clearly she was enjoying this conversation. "Mexican." Scott groaned.
Melissa stood up. "You're welcome to eat with us, Xavier. I've made plenty of food." Without waiting for an answer, she left the room. Scott heard her footsteps echoing down the stairs.
Scott stood up, stifling a yawn and stretching his arms. "That means you have no choice, dude. She won't take no for an answer."
Xavier stood too. "Guess I'm tied to the chair. Fine by me." The two boys stumbled down the stairs, yawning as they went.
Melissa already had the table set. She had made stir-fry, lots of it. As Xavier surveyed the table, he glanced at Melissa. "This isn't Mexican."
Melissa looked pointedly at her son, who was flushing. "No, it isn't."
…
Scott called Kira the moment he got away from the table. His mother had not anticipated how hungry the three of them were going to be, and she was cooking another batch. She and Xavier had gotten into an in-depth conversation about their various cooking styles and kept him stranded to the table, away from his phone. Now he was downstairs with her, showing her how he made his version of stir-fry.
Unbelievable, Scott thought. A hunter, a student, a detective, and now a chef. Life was full of surprises. One would have thought that becoming a werewolf taught you not to underestimate this planet at all. Clearly he had missed the memo.
"He cooks? Sounds dreamy." Kira teased. Scott was again reminded by the fact he was hopeless with a spatula. First Isaac, now Xavier.
"Yeah, maybe you should date him instead," he joked. He heard Kira laugh, and his heart warmed considerably.
"You know you're mine, and I'm only for you, baby" she crooned in his ear. "Plus, I already told you I can cook too." Best girl ever.
Scott then quickly informed her of last night's events, including the visit from Adam at the diner. When he finished, she sounded scared over the phone. "Scott, make sure you don't go out alone. Stick with him. Xavier."
Scott tried to calm his girlfriend. "I know, I know," he soothed. "I'll be careful. I just don't want to leave you out of the loop."
"Thank you. I love you."
"I love you too," he said before he hung up. His mother was calling him.
…
An even larger batch of food greeted Scott as he emerged from the stairwell. Melissa was nearly giddy when she saw him. It was sickening, in a humorous sort of way. "Wait till' you taste this. It's so good. We're gonna eat stir-fry like this from now on."
"Eggs." Xavier put in. "Its essential."
Melissa gave him a high five, practically hyper on her own dorkiness. "Honey, your friend is a genius. Grade-A. Like eggs." She laughed, though both Scott and Xavier looked at each other, smiling weakly. Bad mom jokes and all.
…
Argent frowned. The desk clerk swore to have never seen anyone matching the descriptions of Adam Ward of anyone from his pack. The young man had been noticeably nervous, but Chris could not verify whether that was caused by potential intimidation by the alphas, or his own interrogation. He probably could have handled it better.
With a defeated sigh, he returned to his vehicle, his eyes scanning all the motel doors that were in his view. All of them were shut tight, and their corresponding windows all had their drapes yanked shut. He couldn't see inside a single room even if he got right up close.
Now, if Chris had to wager, he would expect Adam to be here. He was pretty much untouchable; Chris knew that he and Xavier did not have the ability, either in manpower, nor authority, to sweep the entire complex. Doing so would be dangerous and stupid. More of the latter than the former.
Looking at the second balcony he thought he saw the drape flutter, as if someone inside had moved them. He took note of the room, 281. Perhaps someone was watching him, but he then immediately dismissed the theory. It could have been anything; and knowing for sure didn't really benefit him anyway. Finally accepting the situation, he put his SUV into reverse and peeled out of the parking lot. He had to order some things he needed, as well as some things that Xavier had requested.
…
"Well?"
Roan tore himself away from the window. "I think he left. I don't think he knows we're here."
"I told you, Roan." Evelyn's tone had a hint of exasperation. "It doesn't matter whether or not he knows anything. Only a crackpot would try and take us out here. He'll have the police on his ass. And frankly, we would make sure they find him. His body. In two."
Roan nodded quickly. Evelyn suspected that he was still a little jumpy after Cain's death. She was definitely still smarting over it too. She was astonished that such a young hunter had made that shot, and then managed to survive the injuries she inflicted on him. She was astonished that Argent managed to track him in the woods at night, and then helped save the boy in time.
In fact, Eve loathed the two hunters for pulling that off. That had vastly displeased Adam, who had been angry with her, albeit for only so long. No one could be angry with Eve for long if she didn't want him or her to be. It was just the way it worked. It was just the way she was.
The next time she had the chance, she was going to run the boy through, and then she was going to rip out his throat, with her teeth.
…
"So here's the thing," Scott said. He eyed his two companions, Stiles and Xavier. Both of them were staring at him intently. "I have an idea."
Stiles groaned. "You kept me up to midnight and dragged me out here just to tell me about a plan?"
Xavier said nothing, but Scott saw him smirk, jerking his head. The attractive waitress was back. Scott sighed. Just because he liked the sub sandwiches didn't mean he wanted to keep giving this girl mixed signals. "Seriously man, I'm just going to tell her I'm taken."
Stiles smacked Scott on the arm. "Don't be stupid. That's Olivia Reyner. She knows you're taken. Doesn't mean you're not hot."
Xavier gave Stiles a weird look. Scott cackled. "Its an obsession with him." Stiles opened his mouth to protest, but Scott beat him to it. "Look, we should set a trap. Tell Adam we found the claws, and we're willing to trade them if he brings Allison back."
Xavier mused over this. "You threw that last wrinkle in to give us a motive. Answers the question for our logic."
Scott nodded. "Exactly."
Stiles interrupted. "But you said Derek told you that the claws can't bring back the dead. Adam would know that too." He shook his head for emphasis of his concern.
"I know, but he doesn't know that we do." Scott spoke faster, his voice rising in excitement. "I'm not a fan of the plan either, but he's not leaving. And giving him the goods isn't an option, now that we know they make him more powerful. He needs to go, or die."
Stiles leaned close. "Dude, keep your voice down."
Scott shrank his tone. "Sorry."
Xavier had a question. "Where do we do this?"
Scott looked him in the eye. "The school. Territory we know well. And it's we. Not you."
Xavier almost stood up. "Bullshit. You're not doing this without me."
Stiles grabbed the other boy's wrist. "Adam wants you dead. And his mate wants to disembowel you. Now I'd like to study your anatomy as much as anyone else-I'm sure you're on steroids-but I'd prefer to do it at another day."
Xavier looked at him in confusion and disbelief. "Roids? Keep your scrawny ass- comments to your scrawny-ass body. I'm no bigger than you."
Stiles threw up his hands, palms out. "Okay, okay. Just saying. You're crazy enough to throw yourself down cliffs and date a Hale."
Xavier bit back a retort. "She's not my girlfriend. And you date one too."
Stiles smiled at him cheerfully, ignoring the comeback, even though it was absolutely correct. "But you want her to be."
Xavier fell silent for a moment. He slowly nodded his head. "Stilinski, you really know me, don't you?" He lightly punched him on the arm. Stiles grabbed his arm and rubbed it anyway. He tried to make it discreet.
Xavier returned his gaze to Scott. "I'm not sitting this one out."
Scott knew he couldn't stop him if he wanted to. "Please man. I'm trying to protect you. I want you to be safe."
Xavier turned away, his face full of frustration. "It's because of what happened in the woods. You feel sorry for me."
Scott gave no reply, his face downcast.
"You think I need pity? I need Adam and his pack dead!"
Stiles broke in. "Voluuumeeee."
Xavier ignored him. "I will never forget what that woman did to me. She almost killed me. Every time I breathe, I see her face. Every time I exhale, I feel her hands, crushing my ribs."
Scott stuck his face right up to Xavier's. "Then let me take her out for you."
Xavier looked at him, his face still hard. "I make no promises."
Their food arrived, and Xavier once again paid, earning a multitude of fruitless protests from both Scott and Stiles. He was angry, but he quickly calmed himself down, and settled into a more friendly conversation about none other than girlfriends. For all his cluelessness, Stilinski was quite an expert on dealing with volatile ones. Then again, Malia fit that bill perfectly.
While Stiles lectured the Chinese hunter about the benefits of being the little spoon, Scott whipped out his iPhone and quickly sent Chris Argent a text. The older man replied immediately. Done deal.